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OwnerRoy Hughes
LocationFort Worth, Texas United States map
Web/EmailWebPage email image
Vehicle1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse
Bought for $800 with a bad engine (perfect really).
Some body repair will be necessary. The interior cleaned up pretty nicely for a used vehicle.
This car was chosen for its looks which lent to its aerodynamics being pretty good. A drag coeffiient of .29 I always wanted one of these Eclipse models :)
MotorAdvanced DC FB1-4001A Series Wound DC
VERY HEAVY.150lbs
Make sure to use an engine lift or sometype of overhead crane in your garage.
DrivetrainManual transmission with an adapter plate. The coupler had to be made by scrapping the idea of a fully functional clutch, both for ease of construction and cost.
ControllerLogisystems 201-144FFX
Both Logisystems controllers have self destructed, could the third one be the one?
The new controller was upgraded by the manufacturer to 750 amps, as a way of keeping me happy I guess. It has been working well for the last 50 or so miles.
Batteries20 Trojan T-145, 6.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, Flooded
Purchased on June 18 '09. The T-145 were all that was available after I drove all the way to the supplier but I figured the extra amps couldn't hurt so I got them.
System Voltage120 Volts
ChargerQuick Charge OP-120-10
At right around $500 this charger was advised as an alternative to the pricier Zivan that I intended to use.When I redesigned to a lower voltage it was necessary to downgrade from 144Volt to 120Volt.
Seems to charge the pack well despite the amp hours needed.
HeaterCeramic guts from a space heater.
DC/DC Converter None
No converter currently. This may change as the 12v battery is weak when trying to run all the normal accessories PLUS the 12v vacuum pump for the brakes.
InstrumentationConsole mount gauge style Voltmeter and Ammeter.
Top Speed65 MPH (104 KPH)
Top speed on a moderately busy highway.
AccelerationRespectable acceleration, smooth and powerful.
Range40 Miles (64 Kilometers)
I travelled 28 milesand this was mostly highway at 60 miles per hour. The charge left was about 45%. So a conservative estimate would put the range at about 40 miles.
Watt Hours/Mile140 Wh/Mile
Estimated value, will do more testing once I have the vehicles inspection done.
EV Miles
Start:148,000 Miles (238,132 Kilometers)
Current:148,050 Miles (238,212 Kilometers)
Total:50 Miles (80 Kilometers)
 
    As of 12/5/2009
Seating Capacity4 adults, but I have no intention of going over two.
Curb Weight3,700 Pounds (1,681 Kilograms)
The Eclipse is a fat car, very heavy with its starting curb weight at 2722lbs especially for a sporty type vehicle.

Approximately 550-600 lbs was removed for the conversion but adding in the 1400 lbs of batteries?

Weight has been on my mind a lot with this car as the Gross Vehicle weight is about 1000 lbs over the curb weight.
TiresBridgestone Ecopia EP100. Bought new and they ride extremely smoothly. Are touted as replacemnts for Prius OEM equipment and are supposed to be Low Rolling Resistance.Will see if they affect the range.
Conversion TimeStarted slowly in June of 2008 parts ordered in August.

Car was finished in September 0f 2009. Its first test drive was on September 7 2009.
Conversion CostTook out a $7500 personal loan from the bank.
The breakdown so far consists of the following:
Donor Car 800.00
Advanced DC FB1-4001A Motor 1760.00
Logisystems Controller 1248.00
Curtis PB6 Pot Box 85.03
Gast Vacuum Pump & Switch 218.00
Digital 200v DC Voltmeter 14.99
Digital 500A DC Ammeter + Shunt 69.99
SW200 Main Contactor 140.94
QuickCharge Charger 523.02
2/0 Red + Black Welding Cable 178.90
Cablecovers + Heat shrink 44.04
T-145s x 20 - 3600.00
All costs include shipping.
I will add a tool cost estimation also as a lot of tools I didn't have already but this was a good excuse to get them.
Additional FeaturesNothing special.

Since this is Texas an air conditioner is going to be mandatory , while I'm still brainstorming on this problem the conversion should be finished while still in winter/spring so I have some breathing room.
Currently figuring out how to make a relatively small air conditioning system.
The original design was to build a 144Volt system. However weight and cost considerations made this inadvisable, the projected battery pack would have put the car immediately over its GVW. By going with higher ah batteries and fewer of them, hopefully there will be a good trade-off in performance and range.
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